The National Knowledge Commission will recommend setting up web portals on 10 topics and GIS mapping of the country, said Chairman, National Knowledge Commission, Sam Pitroda at an Open House Session organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry on Wednesday.
The Commission focuses on five main issues that are access to knowledge, concept, knowledge creation, services and applications, he said. "We intend to modernize these as per the needs of the 21st century, education being one little subset with the main focus on knowledge as a broader prospect."
India's foreign exchange reserves have risen to $150bn from $2bn in just two decades because it is seen as a knowledge powerhouse. "India is on a high peak of performance but the average is very low," the Chairman said. Therefore, we should propose the right set of recommendations to the government and bring about the relevant changes.
Access to knowledge has eight focus areas - literacy, reservations, affirmatory programmes, libraries, languages, translation, network and portals, Mr. Pitroda said. "Each area is necessary to access and requires a lot of expertise at every stage," he said.
The concept of knowledge involves focusing on primary education, secondary education, distance learning and university education, which is in turn a critical issue and requires consensus, Pitroda said.
The Chairman said knowledge creation involves issues relating to copyright, trademark, entrepreneurship and intellectual property rights. "We need people with expertise in both technical and modern areas in order to create a national knowledge network".
Application of knowledge includes the fields of agriculture, health, small and medium industries and traditional knowledge, Pitroda said. A Foundation for Revitalization has been set up in Bangalore that will document a total of 12,000 indigenous medical plants, he said.
E-governance is the key focus area for the Commission, the Chairman said. It should therefore create standards for web-based services and deal with organizational issues.
The Commission has already taken a decision on the need for teaching English at an early stage in schools, Pitroda stated. "India can create half a million jobs in the area of translation." The Commission needs public support and community involvement to understand and disseminate information Chairman & CEO, HCL Infosystems Ltd., Ajai Chowdhry said India should focus on the creation, application and dissemination of knowledge to excel in the fields of education, science and technology, industry, agriculture and e-governance.
Quelle/Source: India Infoline, 11.10.2006
